Before Obama, South Floridians assess state of the country

Jeff and Maria Ruthizer split an extra lean corned beef sandwich at Ben's New York Kosher Delicatessen, then chewed over the state of the country.

"The nation is a disaster," Jeff Ruthizer said. "We're very, very worried about America in the next four years and in the next decade – very concerned."

"Nothing is going to get done," said Maria Ruthizer. "And we're going to sink deeper and deeper into the pit."

Tuesday night, President Barack Obama will tell Congress and the nation what he thinks the State of the Union is. In the days preceeding the speech, a Sun Sentinel reporter crisscrossed Palm Beach and Broward counties to see how people here assess the condition America is in, and what they hope Obama will say.

Our findings: There's a yearning among South Floridians for good news on the economy and a desire to see Democrats and Republicans put aside their differences and work for the betterment of the country. The sentiment is expressed by Obama fans as well as those who hate him and cuts across age, gender, ethnic, sexual orientation, employment status and political party differences.

From the diners savoring the mushroom and barley soup and tongue Polonaise with raisin gravy at Ben's to folks breakfasting on bacon and eggs at the Red Fox Diner in Lighthouse Point, and other South Floridians interviewed at work or play, there's a common concern about the state of the country – an uncertainty mixed with skepticism over whether Obama's report to the nation at 9 p.m. will make their lives any better.

There's not much of value that a frustrated Jerry Rosenberg expects to hear from the president – even though he and his wife, Rhoda, voted for Obama's re-election.

"I wear blinders because I don't want to see what's going on. There's no cooperation. Nothing gets done and people suffer," he said.

The Rosenbergs – he's 78 and retired from accounting; she's 71 and a retired secretary – thought they'd do OK after they stopped working, but their retirement west of Delray Beach has been much tighter than they expected, something Rhoda Rosenberg said is widespread.

"There's a lot of things we really have to cut back. It's difficult right now," she said. "I don't see anything improving…. People aren't spending money like they used to. They're afraid. They can't. They don't have it to spend."

Still, the Rosenbergs don't blame the Democratic president now beginning his second term. "He's doing the best job he can under the circumstances," Jerry Rosenberg said.

In the overwhelmingly Democratic communities west of Boca Raton and Delray Beach, the Ruthizers are rarities: locals who voted for Republican Mitt Romney.

Ruthizer, 70, is a retired senior executive for Disney-owned ABC television and a Republican. Maria Ruthizer, 65, is a no-party affiliation/independent voter. Both get Social Security and Medicare, but don't think the programs can continue the way they are – a subject they'd like Obama to focus on Tuesday night.

Jeff Ruthizer's advice to the president: "I'd love to hear him say, not just words, but that he has a serious plan in mind for cutting back on entitlements, which is what's bankrupting the country. He toys with that concept every now and then, but he never puts anything into action."

Here are other South Floridians, and their sense of the country in 2013:

Immigration a top concern

Artist Leonardo Montoya of Margate said it's difficult to make ends meet nowadays by selling his works and painting murals. "With the economy and people losing their houses, they don't get to do many decorating jobs [or buy] the kind of art work that I do," he said.

So Montoya, 40, sells fragrances at a department store before Christmas, Mother's Day and other big holidays, and is trying to land a permanent retail job.

"I'm struggling," he said. Still, the native of Colombia and 15-year U.S. resident working toward citizenship said he's "very optimistic" about the future.

Immigration and what to do with the millions of people illegally in the country are likely to get a big mention in Obama's speech. Montoya is a legal U.S. resident, but says immigration reform is an important issue. "I have the privilege of being able to move around without fear, but [for] those that don't have that opportunity, it's a lot more tough," he said. As a Hispanic, he said, "it touches us deeply as a community."

Montoya's prescription for better times: ending the partisan bickering in Washington and having both parties work together again to get things done. "They need to get together and come out with some better policies," Montoya said.

'Make the people happy'

John Mayes sees glimmers of an economy getting better – more construction, crowded restaurants, customers of his small medical supply business spending a bit more. "Things are opening up and going in the right direction." He voted for President Barack Obama, and said he's doing a good job.

Mayes, 49, offered this advice to the president: "Don't make Congress happy. Make the American people happy when it comes to jobs, growth, money. If the American people are happy, they'll spend money and the economy will grow."

Working harder to get by

There's not much a frustrated Chad Stewart expects to hear from the president. Fueling his truck at a BP station on Federal Highway in Pompano Beach before rushing to his next appointment, said he expects he'll be too tired to watch the State of the Union. Besides, he said, it's a waste of time.

Stewart, 42, is a contract lineman for utility companies, with 12 employees and two crews. The economy is so bad he now must work 11 or 12 hours a day to make ends meet. A Republican, he "of course" voted for Mitt Romney, the party's presidential candidate, last November, he said.

Obama has "made me have to work seven days a week," Stewart said. "I haven't had to work this hard to make a living, ever. I've worked this hard to acquire things, but not to make a living."

Looking for action, not words

Ruth Calixte, of Pompano Beach, graduated in 2011 with an electrical engineering degree from the University of Florida. At 26, she's unemployed, despite her specialized education.

Calixte voted for Obama, but doesn't have great faith that his message on Tuesday night will be transformative or that Washington will do anything to help her situation.

"Everyone stands up and claps," she said. "For me, honestly, there's nothing he can say in the State of the Union that I'm particularly interested [in]. I'm more of an action kind of person. I'd like to see the action that he'd take after the State of the Union."

On the positive side, she said she thinks the president can turn some of the slogans in this year's speech into action. Having been re-elected in 2012, Calixte said, Obama no longer has to pander for votes. "I think he can do some of the things that he says," she said.

Despite being unemployed, Calixte said she remains optimistic for herself and the nation. "All together, I think things are not as bad as people would like to make them seem," she said.

'I don't think it's him at fault'

Things are so tight these days for carpenter Kevin Hadler that he can't afford to replace the balky cell phone be uses to line up carpentry jobs. When the device acts up, he pops out the battery and puts it back in. That seems to make it work again for a time.

Life isn't the way it was 10 years ago. "It's a struggle," said Hadler, 38, of Pompano Beach, who works with his nephew, David Hadler, 30. "I make just enough to pay the bills. I can't afford the 150 bucks to get a new [phone]."

The Hadlers were visiting the Deerfield Beach Fishing Pier one weekday when they'd have preferred to be working. They said they only find enough jobs to keep them busy about two weeks out of every month.

Both men are registered Democrats who voted for Obama – and neither blames him for the continued economic malaise.

"I don't think it's him at fault," said David Hadler. "I think it's the Senate and Congress, fighting him tooth and nail."

'A bunch of babies'

Tim O'Connor of Lighthouse Point has concluded Washington is a mess and has little faith in any politician – or speech – to make things better.

O'Connor, is doing fine financially. He used to own an aluminum distribution business and is in the process of buying another company.

But O'Connor, who voted for Romney in 2012, strongly opposes Obama and is pessimistic about the nation's leadership. When speaking to a reporter, he gave voice to a theme echoed by many South Floridians: with the election now past, it's time for politicians of both parties to pull together.

"My personal feeling is we have a bunch of babies in Washington, OK. They do not care about the American people. They care about their own personal political motives," said O'Connor. "I've said a lot of negative things about the president but the Republicans have issues also. There's no compromise there.

"Sit down and work it out," was this South Floridian's message for Washington. "Come on. I ran a business. You sit down and you work out the issue and you move on."

Future 'not very bright'

Hank Goldman, a retired executive in the men's shirt business, would like to see the president outline spending cuts Tuesday night that would put the nation on a path toward a balanced budget – even though he said he'd be adversely affected if benefits to military veterans like him are cut.

Goldman, 90, who lives west of Boca Raton, gets financial help from his daughter to make ends meet and every spring supplements his income by working a tax preparer for H&R Block. He considers himself lucky.

He's a graduate of the renowned Wharton School of business and economics at the University of Pennsylvania. An independent registered with no party affiliation, he voted for Romney.

He's pessimistic about what the future holds for his grandchildren and a new great-grandchild, though he says all are doing well - for now.

"It appears to me the future is not very bright with the deficit that we have and the out-of-control spending," Goldman said. "They have to do something about it before we follow the path of Greece and Spain and those countries."

Joe Isaacs, who lives in the sprawling Boca West community, is in good shape financially.

"I have more than enough money to live on," he said. So too will his descendants. "They have a good future. No problem at all because I've been blessed with certain gifts, mostly financial, that I can pass on."

He's far less optimistic about the country. "I think the United States is in decline," Isaacs said. "I don't see things getting better any time soon."

The retired lawyer, 82, and registered independent no party affiliation voter, supported Romney last year, but not all Republicans. He won't vote for Gov. Rick Scott's re-election in 2014, for example, "because he's full of beans."

Isaacs thinks the president is a "marvelous communicator. Unfortunately he communicates too well and people approve things without knowing the ramifications."

On Tuesday, he'd like to hear Obama talk about a responsible budget, but doesn't want him to "flaunt his personal ideas," such as alternative energy. He'd like to come away believing that "the guy is anything but a run-of-the-mill politician [but] I don't think it's going to happen."